


Cats Mew-nited

by bobertsmallismydad



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Humor, M/M, Shiro is a cat, There might be actual plot, crackfic, it gets a little serious, this crack fic turned into an actual fic along the way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9862583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobertsmallismydad/pseuds/bobertsmallismydad
Summary: Plot twist: Shiro isn't dead but now he's a cat, shenanigans ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for awesometeensuperwholockstuff on tumblr, because she thinks of the best AUs and fic ideas.

“Okay, well, we found Shiro,” Lance said, rubbing a hand nervously against the back of his neck. The others were lined up beside him looking at both Allura and Coran, save for Shiro and Keith.

“Amazing, where is he?” Allura asked excitedly, her face breaking out into a grin. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge shared worried looks. Allura seemed to catch on and her grin faded away.

“Is he okay? Is he hurt?” she asked and Coran stepped forward to put a hand on her arm in comfort as he gave them a worried look as well.

“I wouldn’t say he’s hurt,” Hunk said as he shrugged. Then the door behind them opened up.

“I finally got him to calm down but I think he’s fine!” Keith said happily as he strolled into the tense atmosphere of the room. Allura was about to demand a direct answer from them when Keith stepped between the line of paladins. He was holding a black cat, the cat batting at his jaw and hair lightly.

“Did you tell them yet?” Keith asked, turning to the other paladins.

“Dude, we were about to,” Lance hissed in complaint. Keith just gave him a light glare before the cat gave him a slightly powerful slap to the cheek, making Keith let go of him. The cat jumped down and ran directly to Allura. She looked down just as the cat jumped. Thankfully, her reflexes allowed her to catch it mid jump, cradling it close to her chest. The cat started to purr loudly, cuddling into her arms further. The cat looked up at her and she gasped, she’d know those gray eyes anywhere.

“Shiro?” she asked quietly. The cat let out a sharp meow and Allura started to laugh. She turned back to everyone.

“This is absolutely ridiculous!” she laughed.

“We think that when we fought Zarkon, Shiro was like transported or something. Maybe through a wormhole created by us fighting such a powerful being, kind of like when you and Coran kept changing,” Hunk suggested.

“Which would explain, him, well, being a cat,” Pidge further explained, smiling uneasily. Keith just folded his arms and glared at Shiro the cat. Lance was struggling not to laugh at Keith. Hunk just looked uncomfortable. Coran looked amused.

They had been searching the universe for Shiro’s life force through the Black Lion. They’d set the castle down on Arus for barely a day, attempting to get some peace after the fight with Zarkon, when the Black Lion suddenly came to life by itself. All they could do was stare in shock as the Black Lion flew away.

“Well, I think it found Shiro,” Keith had said blankly, remembering when Red had basically tore apart a building to protect him. They had all gone back to the castle’s control room to track Black as it zoomed through space. They all had become antsy when the Black Lion had stopped on a planet they didn’t know and then had started its journey back. Allura had ordered the paladins to go and wait for Black’s return, in case Shiro needed help or if it was someone besides him who needed to be dealt with.

“So he’s a cat,” Coran said, a wide smile on his face. Allura smiled down at the cat in her arms as a paw patted gently at her face. Then Shiro was squirming and dropping onto the ground. He walked to the other paladins, rubbing himself against their ankles and purring loudly. The glare melted into a fond look on Keith’s face as Shiro rubbed against his boot. Then Shiro was taking off through the door and down the corridor. Everyone shared a look before they all broke out into a sprint after the disappearing cat.

“God, he’s so fast,” Lance panted.

“Everyone’s faster than you,” Keith commented as he passed Lance. Lance was about to make a snarky comeback when a thought popped into his head and he stopped on the spot. Keith did a double take and stopped as well, everyone else running ahead.

“Something wrong?” Keith asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

“I have an idea” was the only explanation he gave before he ran back the way they had come, disappearing around the corner. Keith made an exasperated sigh and took off after the others. He couldn’t help but worry about Lance changing so suddenly.

Apparently, Shiro had wanted to go outside. Keith found everyone standing outside at the entrance to the castle, staring at Shiro playing and falling on the ground and grass. Keith was about to ask what was going on when a loud shudder went through the ground. They all immediately went on the defensive until Black came into view, moving on its own.

“What the hell?” Pidge said under their breath. They all had to stare in shock as Black made its way over to Shiro. The black cat seemed to finally notice the large robotic lion and immediately leapt into the air, doing a playful flip. Everyone stared in awe as Black did the same, a large shudder going through the ground when it landed. Shiro then started weaving in and out of Black’s legs, and then they continued playing. Thankfully, taking it away from the castle as not to destroy anything.

This was honestly the weirdest shit they’d ever seen, and they traveled the universe and fought in a robot made up of robot lions.

“Unbelievable,” Keith murmured.

“Well, takes a cat to know a cat,” Hunk mused. Everyone turned to him, Allura was the first to speak.

“Do you think because he now has the mindset of a cat he can bond with the Black Lion on a completely new level?” she asked intently.

“Could be?” Hunk supplied, not used to her intense attention.

“That is simply fascinating,” Coran said wistfully as he looked to the two cats playing happily.

“It’s kind of. . .adorable,” Allura commented and started to chuckle, which started a few giggle fits amongst the crew.

“Guys, oh my god, I’m a genius!” Lance shouted as he came running, holding something in his hand above his head. Keith rolled his eyes but a small smile, barely noticeable, spread across his face as he realized Lance was fine. Then Lance was flipping a switch on the silver object in his hand, it looked sort of like a pen. Then he was pointing it at Shiro and Black, both immediately stopped.

“What are you-” Keith was cut off as he realized what was on the ground. A large red dot. A laser pointer. Keith mentally cursed as he continued to stare at the dot. Then Lance moved it quickly, Black and Shiro taking off after it. Keith’s head snapped back and forth to track the dot. Pidge looked away from the scene to say something to Hunk but stopped and stared at Keith.

“Keith,” Pidge said uneasily. Keith barely heard them as he continued to follow the dot. Pidge was the only one who saw Keith’s face starting to turn purple at the ears, which crept onto his cheeks.  
“Guys!” Pidge practically squeaked as Keith’s face transformed, his ears elongating and growing purple fur while his face went purple, the eyes darting back and forth turning a vibrant yellow. Keith pushed Hunk out of the way as he ran forward.

“Oh my god!” Lance yelled as he saw Keith take off. The whole team gasped as they saw Keith running at the two cats. Allura made to go after him, afraid he’d hurt Shiro but Coran held her back and pointed to the increasingly bizarre scene in front of them. Instead of attacking Shiro, Keith was now chasing the red dot with them on all fours. Keith didn’t pay any mind to his cackling teammates as his focus was devoted to the dot.

The Black Lion had settled down slightly and was watching Keith and Shiro jump over and around each other. At one point Shiro jumped onto Keith’s head, using him as a springboard as Lance made the dot come closer to the others. Keith let out a low growl and scrabbled after the dot. He didn’t account for the momentum.

“Keith!” Lance yelled as he saw Keith bolting towards him. He let out a loud scream as Keith collided with him, the laser pointer going crazy as it was flung from his hand. Shiro took the opportunity to jump off the two downed paladins and rocket up towards the flying pointer, catching it in his mouth.

“Wow, even as a cat he’s impressive,” Pidge muttered in amusement. Hunk and Coran just laughed.

“Uh, good kitty?” Lance stuttered out as Keith sat up on top of him. Keith just looked down at him and made a weird sound in his throat. Keith crawled off of him but sat there on the ground, mouth turned into a frown. Lance sat up as well and laughed. Shiro came over and set the pointer down at Keith’s side, rubbing against his leg affectionately. Keith made a sound in his throat, a happier sound, a high pitched chirp. Lance looked up and noticed how big Keith’s ears were, so fluffy. He couldn’t help but reach out and scratch him behind the ear. Keith made another sound, a sigh of some sort, and a small smile spread onto his voice.

“Wow, this day is totally weird. Are we not going to address it?” Hunk asked as he held his hands up in confusion.

“Hunk is right, we need to find a way to turn Shiro back,” Allura agreed. Hunk smiled at her agreement with him.

Lance was still scratching Keith behind an ear but he stopped when Allura finished, regretfully lowering his hand. Keith made another noise and the purple drained from his skin, his ears losing their hair and returning to normal. When he was fully back to his original state he was blushing furiously. He and Lance didn’t look each other in the eye. Shiro just circled them, mewing loudly.

Today really was a weird day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And thus the crackfic becomes an actual fic.

“Maybe we could try a wormhole?” Coran suggested when they were back in the control room.

“We are not doing that unless we absolutely have to!” Allura said immediately, bordering on shouting. Everyone went silent all at once, giving her an uneasy look. Even Shiro the cat stopped moving and the hair on his back stood up. She sighed and took a deep breath.

“The last time that happened you almost winked out of existence, Coran. I’d like to avoid that danger, if you wouldn’t mind,” she explained calmly. Everyone let out a sigh of relief and Shiro weaved himself around her ankles. Coran smiled fondly and laid a hand on her shoulder, happy that she had thought and cared about his well being. She smiled back and placed her hand over his, sighing as she looked to the other paladins.

“Any other ideas?” she asked hopefully. The paladins gave each other looks before Pidge started to talk.

“Well, my first assumption is that maybe this will wear off. So maybe the first thing we should check is to see if he will change back in time,” they suggested. The team nodded but they looked unsure at the suggestion.

“I know the problem with that is that we have to wait and we won’t know if he’s okay for being changed that long. It was only a suggestion,” they immediately added after they saw everyone’s looks. Allura was the one to step forward and put a hand on their shoulder, giving them a comforting smile.

“It’s the most logical suggestion, thank you,” she said. Pidge smiled shyly back, running a hand through their messy hair.

Shiro the cat moved away from Allura’s ankles and instead went over to Lance, purring loudly. Lance smiled and picked him up, the cat struggling slightly then calming as Lance scratched under his chin, cradling him like a baby. Lance continued to smile as he thought of his baby cousin that he’d held just like this, his body immediately bouncing up and down softly to soothe the cat in his arms. He started to hum as well, the lullaby his mom had sung to him to calm him down after a nightmare.

“Maybe there’s a test we could do in the castle that could tell us what’s exactly wrong with him?” Hunk suggested.

“I mean right now we’re assuming it’s magic but it could be something science related. Weird science but science nonetheless,” Hunk continued.

“I could see if I could put something together,” Pidge suggested. They looked to Allura for approval and smiled when she nodded her head.

“Come on, Hunk, I need my best engineer,” Pidge said, waving for Hunk to follow. Hunk smiled widely and left with Pidge to start working in the lab.

Keith was standing silent the entire time, trying his best to look as small as possible. He looked over discretely at Lance and a small smile spread onto his lips at the sight. The blue paladin was bobbing up and down, crooning a soft tune to a totally compliant cat. The cat was softly batting a hand on Lance’s nose, the sight made something well up in Keith’s chest.

“I think we should let him be for now,” Allura whispered to Keith as she came to stand beside him. He was surprised at the ease she showed when she had not so long ago seemed to hate him. She looked at him, a fond look in her eyes. He blushed slightly and looked back to Lance, admiring the calming effect he had that worked so well on the cat. Keith found himself calmed by the display.

“Do you have any suggestions, Keith?” Allura asked, breaking his small reverie.

“No, sorry, Princess,” he mumbled back. She laid a hand on his shoulder, he stilled under it, not used to her physical contact.

“It is no problem, why don’t you go and rest? If you think of another option tell us and we’ll discuss it.”

“Okay, thanks,” he replied shyly. He gave the hand on his shoulder a timid look and she took it away, a shy smile on her face. He sent Lance a last look then turned and made his way to his room. Allura’s eyes followed him until he disappeared through the door then she made her way over to Lance.

“Having fun?” she questioned and Lance lifted his head to look at her. He smiled widely and Allura was pleasantly shocked.

“Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away. Back on Earth I always cradle my younger cousins,” he said as he looked wistfully down at Shiro. Shiro instead of batting Lance anymore he was sleeping soundly, soft purrs making both Lance and Allura smile. Coran smiled at the scene then went back to the main controls of the castle, running a scan that Pidge had requested over the comm. He was scanning the system for when they had gone through the wormhole that had sent them into a loop, looking for the residual energy that had encapsulated the ship. The system showed some signs and he sent the information to Pidge down in the lab.

“I think you need to talk with Keith, Lance,” Allura said quietly. Lance looked a little confused then flushed when he remembered what had happened not that long ago. He looked back down at Shiro, whose eyes were now open, a knowing look in them.

“I know,” he muttered to Shiro, and to himself. Shiro let out a soft meow then started to struggle slightly. Lance let him pounce from his arms. Shiro made his way to Coran and rubbed against his pant leg.

“Guess it’s my turn now,” he mused as Shiro jumped up into his chair. Shiro batted at his hand, urging Coran to pet him. Coran gave in easily, gloved fingers scratching the cat on the tummy happily.

“Why don’t you get rest as well?” Allura suggested. “We’ve all had a long day.”

“Thanks, Allura,” Lance replied then made his way out of the control room.

When he reached his own door he stopped. He looked down a little ways to Keith’s door. For a moment his body tensed, as if to start walking in that direction, but he stopped himself.

“Coward,” he whispered accusingly to himself, then opened his own door and disappeared inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very shocking development arises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I haven't updated this fic in four months, I gotta be better than that. So, with that, this chapter is the second to last and the next one will conclude this fic. Thanks to all who have loved this crack fic turned a little serious, I hope you enjoy the story as it unfolds!

“Princess, why don’t you go and rest as well?” Coran asked as he scratched under Shiro’s chin. Allura looked as if she were going to argue but promptly yawned. She smiled sleepily then waved as she left the room.

“Looks like it’s just us two now,” Coran mused as Shiro meowed loudly. Shiro jumped onto the control panel, avoiding stepping on any buttons. Coran sat in his chair, and did some routine tests. Shiro sat down and started licking his paw.

“You know,” Coran started, “we had creatures back on Altea that looked just like you. Only, those little beasties weren’t house trained and could rip your face off with one swipe.” Coran looked down at Shiro and caught sight of the tiny claws sticking out of his paw.

“Seems like you might be able too as well,” Coran finished excitedly as he tapped the paw Shiro was cleaning. Shiro batted at him, offended, as Coran laughed as he turned back to the controls. A light flashed on the pad and Coran clicked on it. Hunk and Pidge appeared on a screen in front of him, startling Shiro, so much so that he scurried into Coran’s lap.

“So we did some tests,” Hunk said, scratching his head, “and we found some traces of the energy associated with the wormhole. Pidge is running some tests to see how we could find the same kinda energy output, it’s a no go so far but we’ll keep at it.”

“Sounds great!” Hunk waved as the screen blinked out. Coran sat back and scratched up and down Shiro’s back. Shiro arched under his touch and purred loudly.

“Don’t worry, my friend, they’ll have you in tip-top shape in no time.” Coran sighed as he looked over the final tests. Then he picked up Shiro and set him on the ground.

“Time for bed, although I don’t know where you’ll sleep, someone has to look after you,” Coran said as he started walking towards the door. Shiro trotted along behind him then stopped. Coran turned around at the sound of gagging. Shiro hackles were raised as he gagged, his legs stuck out straight and rigid in an attempt to stay upright.

“Oh no,” Coran said as he rushed over to him, his hands hovering in the air. How did earth cats work? Shiro continued to hack until a small black pebble fell from his mouth onto the floor. He gave a few more coughs then settled down. Coran ran a hand down Shiro’s back in an attempt at comfort.

“Stay here, okay?” Coran said as he stood and walked over to the control desk. He opened a drawer and took out a small bag. Shiro was simply looking at the offending pebble as Coran picked it up with the bag and closed it tightly. Shiro made a clipped chirp noise as Coran went back to the control panel and opened up a small port. He placed the bag in it and typed a message that said, “Run tests to figure out what this is, DO NOT TOUCH!” He sent it down to the lab where Hunk and Pidge were.

He turned back to Shiro and saw that he had his back arched. His lips were pulled back from his teeth in a silent hiss. Coran approached him slowly, still unsure of what to do. Then Shiro let out a yowl that had Coran covering his ears, and instinctively closing his eyes. After he didn’t hear anything else he uncovered his ears and opened his eyes.

And came face to face with a very human Shiro. Coran gaped at him and made a gasping noise. Shiro looked just as stunned. Coran gasped even louder when he realized Shiro was naked. Luckily for him, Shiro was curled in on himself so all his parts were covered.

“Shiro, are you okay?” Coran asked softly. Shiro still looked a bit shocked but was adjusting slightly.

“I, I think so, I feel really strange,” Shiro said, voice rough and shaky.

“I’ll go grab your clothes from your room, don’t move a muscle,” Coran said then bolted from the room, off down the hallway. He got into Shiro’s room in record time and grabbed any garment of clothing he found, which wasn’t hard since he only had the one outfit. He got back to Shiro in a couple of minutes, he was still sitting on the ground. Coran handed over the clothes and turned away.

“You can look now,” came Shiro’s voice and Coran turned around. Shiro looked back to normal, just a little paler and confused. Then Coran pulled him into a hug and nearly crushed him.

“Oh, it’s okay, Coran, I’m fine.”

“We were all so worried!” he said as he pulled away.

“You guys seemed perfectly fine with it when Lance brought out a laser pointer and laughed at me,” Shiro said, a small smile on his face.

“That was Lance’s idea, not anyone else’s,” Coran defended but he was smiling. Shiro looked down at his hands and tested them, his robot arm working fine despite his cat form not having one.

“You should go rest, get some sleep. I’ll gather everyone tomorrow morning and we’ll tell them what happened okay?” Coran asked, putting a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. Shiro looked up at him and nodded.

“Thanks Coran, for everything,” Shiro said then went off to his room.

Coran sighed and muttered to himself, “Everyday things around here get weirder and weirder.”


	4. Chapter 4

The whole team is antsy as soon as Coran calls them all into the main control room the next morning. They all share one thought: Where is Shiro, because he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Coran, where’s Shiro? Is he okay?” Keith asked, the first to break the silence they’d been surrounded in since Coran called them. The others murmured similar sentiments and Coran held his hands up in a gesture to calm them down.

“Everything is okay, you’ll see why in a minute. But first, Hunk, Pidge, what did you find out about that specimen I sent you last night?” Everyone looked to Hunk and Pidge for answers because they hadn’t known about this new development.

“We ran it through some tests and it came back as a sort of organic compound, sort of like a fruit pit from Earth,” Hunk said. Everyone looked back to Coran to see why this mattered.

“What does this have to do with anything? Where’s Shiro?” Keith argued, getting worried. Lance could tell he was about to blow his top so he put a hand on his arm.

“He’s okay, right, Coran?” Lance asked, slightly annoyed that Coran wasn’t giving them a straight answer, especially because it was bothering Keith. Keith visibly calmed when Coran nodded vigorously.

“Oh, yes, I imagine he’s feeling mighty better now that he’s slept,” Coran mused just as the door whooshed open behind them. They all turned on a dime, their eyes widening in tandem. Shiro stepped in calmly, completely human (thankfully this time dressed, Coran was thinking).

“Shiro?” Keith whispered, then he broke into a sprint and slammed into Shiro at full force. Shiro easily caught him and hugged him back. Everyone followed suit after a few moments, most of them still stunned by the sight of their lead paladin being here, being okay.

“How?” Allura asked as she hugged him calmly, not tackling him as some of the others had done. Shiro immediately smiled shyly and motioned to Coran with one hand while the other rubbed at the back of his neck.

“It’s actually embarrassing,” he murmured but continued, “after the fight with Zarkon, I was transported to another planet somehow, I guess. Then, I kinda, ate a fruit thing off a vine, because I was hungry, and turned into a cat. . .” Shiro trailed off. Everyone looked at him for a moment, then they all started to crack smiles.

“Shiro, what the fuck,” Keith exhaled on a nervous laugh. Shiro smiled and laughed as well, which started everyone laughing.

“So the pit that we analyzed came out of you?” Pidge asked in disgust but also fascination. Shiro nodded and Lance wrinkled his nose up in disgust.

“Hacked it up, like a Hop-lup after eating traditional glorp-yak,” Coran said wistfully and everyone gave him a weird look, except Allura who apparently understood perfectly. Keith gave Shiro another squeeze before letting go. Shiro looked down at him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re all okay,” Shiro said, addressing everyone but side-eyeing Lance. Lance started to look a little guilty.

“So you’re not angry about the laser pointer?” he asked, cocky grin a little shaky with nervousness. Shiro gave him his best Dad-glare then it melted into a smile. He pulled Lance in and hugged him tightly.

“I’m not mad, far from it, I would have laughed too. Also, playing with Black was fun,” he said then pulled away. Lance was a little stunned but smiled. Keith shot him an amused smile and Lance returned it.

“Well, I think we’ve all earned a celebration day off!” Allura announced and they all cheered because Allura never let them do nothing. She smiled at Shiro and he put an arm around her shoulder.

“I hope I didn’t worry you all too much,” he murmured as the others wandered off.

“Oh, you worried us plenty, but it seems normal at this point,” Allura responded but smiled as she saw Keith and Lance walk off in the same direction. Their faces leaning toward one another in a private conversation, she watched them until they disappeared out of sight behind a wall. She looked back to Shiro.

“What matters now is that your back,” she said, then added, “I’m glad you’re back.” Shiro looked down at her.

“Glad to be back,” he replied, squeezing her shoulders slightly in a side hug.  _ Glad to be home. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the end. I'm sorry I didn't have a set updating schedule, I don't usually do chapter fics. But thanks for reading, you've all been great! Leave a comment and tell me what you thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it and if you'd like another chapter!


End file.
